Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ridgeway gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $150K for a typical one, or 2 years of the Rochester metro’s $76K median household income. It grades B− overall, 380th among New York's 745 graded towns. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 8 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include US Post Office-Medina and Main Street Historic District. 18% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Ridgeway, below both New York’s towns (32%) and U.S. towns (29%). Ridgeway is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns.
Where Ridgeway beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,496 in 1820, 6,780 in 2010. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1849 and 3 maps from 1897 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Ridgeway is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ridgeway, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Ridgeway.
Ridgeway has homes that are cheap against local pay and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 93% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 2,856 working residents takes 24.8 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Ridgeway for work: only 17% work in town. Since 2013, Ridgeway has added 123 jobs, to 2,094 in 2023. The top destinations are Shelby (14%), Albion (7%) and Amherst (5%).
| Ridgeway | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ridgeway has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Ridgeway is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
7.1 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Ridgeway’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Ridgeway | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greenwood Lake Town Park | — | 12 |
| 2. Gulf Street Park | — | 10 |
| 3. State Street Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Ridgeway beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 16% of Ridgeway adults smoke cigarettes.
| Ridgeway | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Ridgeway | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.7% | 6% |
| More smokers | 16.3% | 11.3% |
| More adults with arthritis | 29.6% | 24% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2 years of the Rochester metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 89% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Ridgeway; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Ridgeway residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Ridgeway’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 places in Ridgeway on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Ridgeway is a town in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 6,886 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is derived from "Ridge Road," an important highway in the 19th century. The Town of Ridgeway is on the western border of the county, which is bordered to the north by Lake Ontario.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Ridgeway.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ridgeway grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #380 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health and B− for schools.
The typical home is worth about $150,000, 71% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
2 notable people were born here, including John Caldwell and Adna Anderson.
